Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: do they deserve their fate?

Justice? Murder? What matter the name when treachery is the game! They chose to serve Claudius, to betray a friendship for favor. If a man digs a pit, is he surprised when he falls in? Let their fate be a lesson: loyalty is a jewel, not to be bartered for a king's smile.

I must respectfully disagree with both sentiments. It is true they served the crown, and Laertes speaks of loyalty, but did they not also once profess loyalty to Hamlet? Their betrayal, however subtle, set them upon a path from which there was no turning back. Justice or murder? Perhaps a tragic consequence of misplaced fealty and the corrupting influence of power, as evidenced throughout these unfortunate events at Elsinore.

While Laertes makes a potent point about loyalty, I see a more nuanced situation. These were men caught between their king and a prince plagued by melancholy. To serve the crown is their duty, is it not? Their deaths, while regrettable, highlight the dangers of navigating the treacherous waters of state.